Many in the Goshen community have heard of, been to, or been involved with the Bethany Christian Schools annual auction fundraiser. The auction is coming up again this year on March 22, and although it has undergone some changes over the years it is still a community event that provides support for many opportunities at Bethany.
Faculty and staff originally brainstormed the idea of an auction in response to a budget crisis, making this the 19th annual auction. The event was also originally called Fun Fest, with the auction only as a small part. However in 2010 lead organizers Karen Shenk and Scott Richer decided to change the name to Auction to publicize the fact that it is primarily a fundraiser for the school.
Different food and activities have been offered over the years at the auction also. A large piece of the auction that used to take place was a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning, but that no longer happens.
Usually very well attended, over 300 bid tickets are usually sold with over 600 people attending. Bethany’s carnival also draws in a large crowd.
In past years there have been up to 200 community members and parents of students in addition to middle school and high school students. This year, however, some changes have started to take effect.
For this annual auction fundraiser, there is no evening meal or carnival event with children’s activities. Planners felt the need to scale back on the amount of time spent planning and organizing in an effort to reduce the number of parent volunteers so they can attend the auction themselves. Also this year, all auction and dessert events are taking place in the high school gym and lobby instead of expanding down hallways and through the middle school gym, reducing set-up and teardown time. Only a dessert bar and specialty drinks provided by the Electric Brew will be available this year.
Despite these changes that are taking place, the Bethany Auction is sure to be yet another successful event for Bethany Christian Schools and the surrounding community. Be sure to come out on March 22 with registration and silent auction bidding beginning at 3:30 pm.
Here is a list of auction items as of March 1, items subject to change.
Here you can register for an auction bid number.
~Katie Hurst